Alternative Dispute Resolution

Certificate in Dispute Resolution

The purpose of the Certificate in Dispute Resolution is to acknowledge those students who have completed a rigorous course of study in the various ADR processes and have been actively involved in the dispute resolution field while at Moritz. In pursuing the Certificate, our students become more prepared than their peers for a legal career during which they utilize various skill sets become leaders in the dispute resolution field.

To earn the Certificate in Dispute Resolution, a student must both earn 15 semester hours of course work related to development of expertise in dispute resolution and complete the non-credit externship requirement.

In reaching the required 15 credit hours each student must take either the Mediation Practicum or the Multiparty Mediation Practicum Both courses have both a classroom component and a clinical component, in which the students mediating actual disputes with feedback and analysis by the faculty. The practica are co-taught by a regular faculty member and the Langdon Fellow, with a one to eight faculty-student ratio.

Each student must also earn credit in an approved dispute resolution seminar, which may include the mediation practicum when it is taught as a seminar, in which the student completes a substantial and high quality scholarly paper in the dispute resolution field. Those who hold the Certificate should be prepared to make innovative contributions to the field as they practice within it.

In addition to the courses identified above, the following courses are available to satisfy the Certificate requirements:

Law and Psychology (3 credits count toward the Certificate if certain requirements met)

Law and Social Science

Law of Disability Discrimination (2 credits count toward the Certificate)

Lawyers as Leaders (1 or 3 credits count toward the Certificate)

Legal Negotiation

Litigation and ADR Research

Middle East Conflict Seminar

Negotiation and Mediation Advocacy (Fall break course)

Special Education Advocacy (1 credit counts toward the Certificate)

Students can also receive credit toward the Certificate for three of the up to five credit hours that can be earned for work on the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution.

Finally, each student must complete 112 hours of approved externship work in the field. Although a student may be compensated for this work externship, no academic credit will be given. The student will work with faculty and local practitioners to accumulate the required hours. There are numerous existing placements and opportunities in many areas of the law, ranging from family to commercial, in which students mediate conflicts, conduct research, help administer programs, and teach dispute resolution. Through the externship hours, students will gain experience beyond that of the required clinical course in mediation, while still under the guidance of law faculty.

The Ohio State University | Michael E. Moritz College of Law | 55 West 12th Avenue | Columbus, OH 43210-1391 | (614) 292-2631If you have trouble accessing this page or need to request an alternate format, please email the Moritz Law Webmaster PDF files in this site require Adobe Reader to view (link opens in NEW window) | View Site Map